Hi Ken! Happy to assist!
This is a great question.
Your benefits may be taxable if the total of (1) one-half of your benefits, plus (2) all of your other income, including tax-exempt interest, is greater than the base amount for your filing status.
The base amount for your filing status is:
- $25,000 if you're single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er),
- $25,000 if you're married filing separately and lived apart from your spouse for the entire year,
- $32,000 if you're married filing jointly,
- $0 if you're married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year.
If you're married and file a joint return, you and your spouse must combine your incomes and social security benefits when figuring the taxable portion of your benefits. Even if your spouse didn't receive any benefits, you must add your spouse's income to yours when figuring on a joint return if any of your benefits are taxable.
You may use this IRS tool to see if your SS benefits are taxable: IRS Interactive assistant
You may also use this tool to estimate if your total income is taxable: Taxcaster
